Councilwoman LaWana Mayfield apologizes for 'the hurt that may have been caused' from 9-11 conspiracy Facebook post

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Charlotte City councilwoman LaWana Mayfield said on Sunday that she is not going to resign following requests for such about a post she created on Facebook questioning the authenticity of the 9-11 attacks in New York City.

An online petition asking for her resignation has received more than 1,300 signatures. The petition cites "shame" and "disgrace" that has been brought upon herself and the city of Charlotte as the reason for the request of her resignation.

"No I'm not going to resign. I'm going to continue fight because my work speaks for itself," Mayfield said.

She urged those calling for her resignation to have conversations about issues taking place in the community and vote for their local leaders.

"Heck I would call for the resignation for a number of people. There have been elected officials here that have made comments regarding all black people and saying the most negative things that sit on the county commission but yet they consistently get re-elected," Mayfield said.

Mayfield says the post was a piece of her thoughts on 9-11 and she stands on the belief of freedom of speech and the freedom of opinion. Moving forward, she says she will continue to share her thoughts and ask in-depth questions.

"We have stopped asking questions and I am concerned about that. I do not have to villanize you for asking a question whether I agree with you or not," said Mayfield. "I will always stand on the foundation of Freedom of speech. That also means freedom of opinion."

The post which has received over 1,000 comments and has since been edited from its original wording, Mayfield says, was not intended to question the planes or the number of lives that were lost.

"I am still waiting for someone to produce pieces of the alleged plane that opened the doors for U.S. citizens to lose all privacy rights (from the conspiracy theorist in me)," Mayfield said in the original post.

As an elected official Mayfield says there is a responsibility to own up to mistakes and apologizes "for the hurt that may have been caused..."

Although she says the amount of attention the post has gained surprised her, she has received support from families impacted by 9-11 who have unanswered questions.

"We have family members on both sides of this issue that are hurting. I have also had family members that feel their voices have been silenced for many years who are saying, 'thank you for at least asking the question,'" said Mayfield.

Copyright 2018 WBTV. All rights reserved.

72

Currently inCharlotte, NC

Sponsored By

Author

Digital Content Producer

Charlotte, NC

Amaya Turner joined WBTV September 2017 after working for CBS News and NBC 4 in Washington D.C. She was raised in Charlotte, NC and is a proud HBCU graduate of Winston-Salem State University and American University where she received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in journalism.